Leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Kofi Akpaloo says there is a need for the government to scrap the law that bans foreigners from engaging in the retail business.
According to him, the law had outlived its usefulness and that it would no longer be needed, considering the relationship between Ghana and the neighbouring countries, particularly, Nigeria.
“As a party, we do not see the usefulness of the law that seeks to stop foreigners from engaging in certain forms of trade activities. This will not bring any good fortune between Ghana and neighbouring countries, “Mr Akpaloo said in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
His comment follows the recent attack on some Nigerian shops in Kumasi by some aggrieved Ghanaians who claimed the Nigerians had taken over the retail businesses.
The aggrieved Ghanaians are said to have ransacked the shops belonging to the Nigerians who fled for fear of being attacked.
This action has been condemned by a wide section of Ghanaians and also made the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Appeatu, deploy security personnel to protect the Nigerian shops.
Under the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) Act, 2013 (Act 865) ‘A person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not wholly owned by a citizen shall not invest or participate in (a) the sale of goods or provision of services in a market, petty trading or hawking or selling of goods in a stall at any place.’
This means that the retail sector in Ghana is the preserve of Ghanaians.
Reacting to the law, Mr Akpaloo said it was time that law was abolished because the world had got to a stage where foreigners had the right to set up businesses and undertake certain trade activities.
He said the government must do everything within its power to end the seeming rift between Ghanaian traders and foreigners because it “does not speak well of the nationâ€.
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